Auto Sync running as a service?

[alexwren]

If you are running Business Pluss with the main install on a windows server, is it possible to run the Auto Sync application as a service?

The reason I ask is that most servers will auto logoff any accounts so it is not really viable (or the way that servers are meant to work) to keep Actinic open and force an always logged on state.

I assume that it might be possible to use something like http://www.firedaemon.com/firedaemon-pro.php or http://www.activeplus.com/Products/ServiceMill

I would love to hear if anyone has done this ok and what server OS they were running.

Alex

[brucet]

We provide an additional free license with Business Plus that just runs the auto sync, which you may be able to run as a service using one of the applications you suggest. But AFAIK we've never tried that, and I don't know if it would work or whether we could support it.

The auto sync module is basically a version of Actinic with everything else disabled. So you couldn't install that and a full version of Actinic on the same computer. However you could have the database and auto sync on the server and run everything else from clients.

We did look at more sophisticated options but each had complications, and we didn't have enough resource to develop them at this time.

[chris ashdown]

Not sure if I understand the question, but

WE run our inhouse server with MS SBS 2003, we have installed a copy of actinic on the server a nd also all the site folders, but don't use this copy of actinic and leave it not running

We have set the server sinc to run all the time and start automatically so that when any client or administrator log on with the workstations they automatically use the server sync

[brucet]

It's probably worth pointing out that you only need synching if you are processing an offline order - to make sure you don't sell offline something you have already sold out online, or vice versa.

In this case at least one user must be running Actinic somewhere on the system, in order for the offline order to be processed. If they are not the sync user and the sync user is not logged in, then Actinic will show a warning.

So the system is quite fail-safe really.

[brucet]

Sorry, there is actually one exception to that. If you are using Actinic EPOS, then you need an instance of the ecommerce application to be running all the time, in order for the stock to be kept in sync between the EPOS database and the website.

[alexwren]

Thanks for all your replies. It sounds like it is all very possible so I will start testing.

Thanks again

Alex